On The Way

Hello friends and praying supporters! Most of the blogs we send out are written by Ben, but this month we have some special news that he knew I'd enjoy sharing personally:

We're so excited to be expecting baby number 4 into our family in February!!

Serenity (3) and Penny (2) talk daily about the “baby in Mommy's tummy,” while William (2) doesn't seem to be interested yet. For over a month we've already been experiencing changes as a family with this addition, due to unique challenges this pregnancy has presented. While the last two pregnancies were very straight-forward with very little nausea or food cravings/aversions, this pregnancy has been quite the opposite. Additionally, the twin pregnancy brought a fair share of fatigue, but since I was also nursing Serenity and we were constantly traveling, that seemed very reasonable. But when we had the first ultrasound this go-around, I was quite surprised to learn I am “only” carrying one, since all the symptoms have been much stronger than either of my other pregnancies! I am learning to adjust my expectations of what I can accomplish in a day. Of course, there are women who experience far more difficult pregnancy symptoms during every pregnancy, and I am not at all saying life is unbearable. However, the unexpected nature of the stronger symptoms has required some unanticipated adjustments as a family. We are hoping it eases off by the second trimester (end of August), but either way God’s grace is sufficient. During this season, I have pondered over some habits and decisions I made when I was younger that have made the inevitable challenges of missions – and life – so much more joyful.

These “habits and decisions” would also be my answer to a common question I received while visiting churches around the USA. Teens and single adults periodically asked me something to the effect of, “What can I do now, to prepare to be a missionary down the road?” While there are many things I am grateful to my parents and pastor for doing when I was young, to prepare me, the following were decisions I personally made that have greatly impacted my life (listed in personal chronological order):

 1)  I am so grateful that I followed my parents' and pastor's counsel to establish a daily habit of Bible reading. That was the stepping-stone to further developing my relationship with God.

 2) I am so grateful I read missionary biographies. They raised the standard of normal, daily Christian living in my mind, helped me count the cost early, and challenged my prayer life.

 3) I am so grateful I memorized lots and lots of Scripture as a teenager, including a few books of the Bible, and asked my Sunday School teacher to keep me accountable. God used a passage I was memorizing to direct some major decisions I made as a young adult. I am still reaping fruit from those decisions and the habit of Scripture memory, during busy mommy and language school days.

 4) I am so grateful I followed the counsel I received to finish a college degree (Bachelors in Nursing). This has blessed my husband and kids and the ministries I have been a part of in countless ways, even if it was just bringing immediate respect and favor from higher authorities toward me and the work I was involved in because I had finished a degree in the United States.

 5) I am grateful for the opportunity I had to work a full-time, secular job; live on my own; go to church and get involved on my own; and see God work in my heart before I ever touched the mission field. God matured me spiritually and emotionally during those years that I thought I was "waiting" to be a missionary and let me see who I really was under various pressures.

 6) I am so grateful I reached out to experienced pastors and missionaries for ministry counsel; listened to them; followed their advice, and then returned for further instructions. Regular, voluntary submission to godly leaders who loved God has protected me from making many innocent but time-consuming mistakes.

 7) I am so grateful I used the "waiting" time to learn. In the 4 years between graduating university and starting deputation, I continued learning 2 languages (American Sign Language and Spanish, to where I was conversationally comfortable, able to interpret, and could explain the Gospel), learned more about the Bible and God, learned more about prayer, and learned so much about life. All of those lessons have been huge assets on the mission field!

 8) I am so, so grateful I waited. I am so grateful I didn't make things happen. I am so grateful I followed God through unexpected twists and turns and let Him decide when I was to take the next step. Learning to wait helped me wait on God through deputation, helped me wait on God on the mission field, helped me wait on God for a husband, and helped me wait on God for so many other "little things" along the way.

 9) I am so grateful I took prayer advice seriously. I am so grateful I took the time to build a habit, work a prayer system, and develop a conversation with God as a single person. This has paved the way to be a praying wife and a praying mom, and has taught me how to pray throughout the day. What a solace when going through a different-than-expected pregnancy in another country!

May God bless each of you who are willing to put in the time to prepare yourself for whatever God has next!

As a family, we are learning more about our faithful God through this season, and praising Him for the grace He gives for the tasks at hand. We are also learning about the Romanian medical system as I begin prenatal care. We are grateful the fatigue is mostly in the mornings, since our language classes are in the afternoons. Praise the Lord I had the energy to take an important Romanian exam last week with Ben! We both passed!! We now have one more test next week, followed by a short break before starting up classes again in September. Thank you for your prayers!